Eyeliner -Clinique - Brush-On Cream Liner in Black Honey
lirontocker 3/2/2007 12:06:00 PM
Fans of brown eyeliner are on a never-ending search; there is an overload of brown eyeliner on the market and we're all looking for that single shade which will compliment our skintone and won't be too severe for a daytime look. Out of all of my brown gel liners, Clinique's "Black Honey" seems to be the only serious contender to the throne. "Black Honey" is a neutral-warm deep milk chocolate brown shade with a nice dose of golden shimmer. It applies comfortably with most precision eyeliner brushes (the brush which comes with the liner pot is less than desirable for precise application) and sometimes needs a second coat to reach it's true depth of color. Staying power is moderate - those with oily skins may find this liner to wear off slightly towards the inner corner of the eyes during the day, but otherwise the color stays put from morning to evening, even through a walk in the rain. This is a good shade to try for daily wear, as it doesn't share the same severe finish many other eyeliners tend to have. It's shimmer is moderate and contributes to a "glossy" look, rather than a "shimmery" look, which makes this shade suitable for a professional setting as well.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Clinique - Color Surge Duo in Mochaberry
lirontocker 3/2/2007 11:49:00 AM
Clinique's Color Surge duo in "Mochaberry" is true to it's name - two coordinating shades which provide an interesting mix between your favorite chocolate brown and forest fruit. The lightest shade of the duo is a slightly shimmery strawberry yoghurt shade, the darker shade is a milk to bittersweet chocolate shade with plum undertones and peach/copper shimmer. The shimmer in both these shades is vastly more subtle that the shimmer which normally accompanies Clinique's Color Surge duos (in fact, that is the first thing I noticed about these), so this may be a good product choice for those who are looking for a more wearable pair of shades from this brand. Upon application, neither of both of these shades seem as pink-toned as they do in the pan. In fact, it very may well be that those with very golden or yellow undertones will be the only ones who will manage to bring the pink in the "berry" out - the rest of us may experience little more than "mocha". Despite this, this is a wonderful daily duo to wear to the office or a formal setting, and would look great paired with most other shades of blush and/or lipcolor. Application is smooth, formula is pigmented and very blendable. Overall I'm very happy with this duo - a great product to have in your pocket for those days for which you have to wear something a little more tailored.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Flirt - Peek-a-Blush Sheer Powder Cheek Color in Heartthrob
lirontocker 3/2/2007 11:29:00 AM
The base shade of "Hearththrob" is a warm medium flamingo pink, finely-milled honeydew melon shimmer gives this blush a final appearance which is a little difficult to describe, something I'd like to both eat and apply to my cheeks at the same time (and what an exotic dish it would be). "Heartthrob" has a sheer, soft, buildable application, good staying power and wonderful blendibility. This is one of the better formulas of blush I have had a chance to try out, and easily the best shade I currently have in my arsenal. This shade will probably work to a certain extent on all skintones, but warm skintones with probably find that it "sits" most comfortably with their coloring. "Heartthrob" plays moderately well with others - as a warmer shade, it does tend to look more balanced with shades from the same family. However, "Hearthrob" is sheer enough for one to be able to control how much color she gets, which allows much more room for experimentation. If you're going to pick up only one shade of blush this year (season, month, week), I'd recommend this shade in a heartbeat. Flirt's "heartthrob" really is one of the better products out there, and is a great choice for both beginner and seasoned blush fans.
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Clinique - high definition lashes
lirontocker 2/28/2007 3:14:00 PM
Clinique's "High Definition Lashes" is a half-brush, half-comb wand mascara, and a very unique one at that. I have tried countless comb based mascaras, and have found them all to be difficult to apply, especially for clumsy people like myself, and even moreso - clumsy people with minimal time in the morning to apply their makeup. Before trying this mascara, I had been using, and liking, Clinique's "High Impact" mascara and had seen no reason to switch based on the results I was getting from "High Impact". I recieved a sample sized tube of "High Definition" and applied it out of curiousity, I was pretty impressed with my initial results. 1st coat went on rather thinly with the brush in a kind of underwhelming way. 2nd coat went on with the comb - and rather smoothly, if I might add - to produce nicely voluminous and long lashes. I'd lie if I'd say that I didn't have to manouver a little bit when combing through in order to achieve a good result, but the effort was minimal compared to the other comb mascaras I had tried in the past. The results were nicely separated long and thick lashes, similarly as long and thick as with "High Impact". One thing "High Definition" provides that other Clinique mascaras don't, however, is LIFT. This mascara seemed to give my lashes the high kick, so to speak. I found the formula to have better wear and hold than most mascaras I have tried in the past (including Clinique's own), and removal is quick and simple. Overall, I'm extremely impressed with this mascara. I had given up on comb-based mascaras long ago, this mascara restored my faith, that it wasn't I who was doing it wrong, it was the mascara I was using. I like this mascara very much and will surely repurchase, I applaud Clinique for providing such a fool-proof mascara for the clumsy girls out there like myself, and for making such great products in general.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Clinique - Colour Surge Bare Brilliance - Blushing Coral
lirontocker 2/28/2007 2:49:00 PM
"Blushing Coral" is a beautiful shade, which reminds me of all the things I like about the summer - a sheer berry-rose with a shot of peach and peachy/golden shimmer, a gorgeous shade for the warmer months. I'm a big fan of Clinique's lipsticks, but no fan of Clinique's "Color Surge Bare Brilliance" formula. Before "Blushing Coral", I had tried both "Bronze Star" and "Waterviolet"", two shades with a gritty texture and glitter residue. Not so with "Blushing Coral" - this light, comfortable, non-sticky lipstick feels surprisingly smooth, and doesn't leave glitter residue on my lips, or anywhere else. This is a very wearable shade, both in casual and formal settings, but would probably be best worn while wearing a bikini poolside, or worn as a mark on the side of a glass of an ice-cold fruit punch. I absolutely adore this shade, and am not sure what took me so long to try it out. Perhaps good things come to those who wait.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Clinique - Pore Minimizer T-zone control [DISCONTINUED]
lirontocker 2/25/2007 5:41:00 PM
This is not entirely a bad product, but not quite the miracle worker. Clinique's "Pore Minimizer T-zone control" aims to reduce shine and minimize the appearance of pores, both of which it does moderately, depending on your skintype. I have a tendancy to believe that this product will work best on combination mildly oily skintypes, however super-oilslick skin such as mine might not see exhilarating results. This thick yet fast absorbing gel is applied locally onto oilier areas and reduces shine for a few hours, and that basically sums up the entire function of this product. Not much is needed, however over-application does nothing to improve the product's effects so just a tiny dab will be enough. Applying this to my nose before powder illiminates some of the slick-shine I get after a few hours, however this product does nothing for my forehead. In any case, this product does absolutely nothing that a good puff of pressed powder won't do, so I doubt I'll repurchase it. It's a nice idea, but that's unfortunately where it ends.
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Eye Shadow -Clinique - Touch Tint for Eyes in Soft Heather
lirontocker 2/25/2007 5:24:00 PM
Clinique's "Touch Tint for Eyes" in "Soft Heather" is my 2nd experience with this cream eyeashadow line. I'm not a fan of cream shadows (in fact, I really dislike them) - I find most difficult to blend and spread evenly, slow to dry and I simply feel like I don't have as much control over the product as I have with powder shadows. Due to these reasons, cream eyeshadows have migrated out of my makeup bag entirely over the years. I had read good reviews on Clinique's "Touch Tint" and decided to try it out - I picked this shade up and although I am not as impressed with the shade as the shade I picked up earlier (Cocoa Cream), it really isn't half bad. "Soft Heather" is a matte light-medium cool-based mauve with an extra shot of violet with a buildable depth of color which dries to a non-severe finish. I attempted to apply this with my fingertips - I recieved well blended results and good color payoff after one-two coats which dried exremely quickly. The color did not crease and had excellent wear, I wore it for 15 hours straight with only minimal "budging" throughout the day. This shade will probably look best on cooler skintones, where the depth of color can really be brought forward. On a warm skintone such as mine, it's a nice spring violet shade with can be pulled off on occasion. I won't pick this color up again - while I love the formula, the color just doesn't sit right.
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Makeup Brushes -Clinique - Bronzer/Blender Brush
lirontocker 2/24/2007 3:01:00 PM
The item listing for this product is incorrect - the name of this product is Bronzer/Blender Brush as described on Clinique's website and not simply "Bronzer" brush. I have notified the admins about this error, hopefully this will be corrected shortly.
This was a difficult brush for me to get my hands on - it had been back-ordered for weeks at my local Clinique counter, so I eventually gave up and ordered this online. I'm thrilled that I didn't decide to wait around for the counter to recieve it (if at all, they seem to not be in high demand), as this is probably the best brush I have used to date for powder application. This brush has a large brush head (larger than standard) made of combination natural/artificial bristles and a short lucite handle with silver lettering. The handle was the main reason I decided to order this - I stick to short handled brushes and kabuki brushes exclusively since I have very small hands and find it difficult to work with brushes with long handles. The larger brush head is great - not the softest of all brushes, but comfortable and fluffy with good density and surprisingly good pigment pickup. The brush distributes pressed powder evenly and nicely. This brush sheds like any other brush does, although it does seem to shed significanly less than any other powder brush I have used in the past. Overall this is an extremely good brush for the price, I'm extremely happy with it and will surely repurchase if the need ever arises.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Clinique - Happy Heart
lirontocker 2/24/2007 2:44:00 PM
This is a wonderful, fresh fragrance, part of what I was hoping for when I sampled Clinique's "Happy". While I enjoyed the base notes of "Happy", I was looking for something in a different direction - this I found in "Happy Heart". It's citrus base isn't as pronouced as "Happy", instead, the mandarin in this scent is put on the backburner to make way for floral notes that are very fresh, and impart a very "clean" scent (almost reminiscent of sweet soap). This is a true, good-mood scent, with moderate to good staying power (one spritz for two pulse points and your neck is more than enough for hours of wear) and a price tag which isn't over-the-top. This is a good fragrance to try out if you're "floating" between scents and trying to find a comfortable fragrance for everyday wear, which can easily be translated for nighttime.
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Makeup Brushes -Flirt - Feather Dust-her (aka Skunk Brush)
lirontocker 2/24/2007 2:29:00 PM
For those who are not currently able or willing to justify paying an arm and a leg for a stippling brush, Flirt's "Feather Dust-her" is a great all around compromise. The size of the brush is wonderful for smaller hands and the brush head is the right size for more concentrated or spot application of pigmented or highlighter products. The "body" bristles of the brush are not of the best quality, however the nylon bristles that make up the lighter colored part of the brush head are wonderful - very soft, yet pick up product very nicely. While this brush isn't the best for my sheer blushes, "Feather Dust-Her" is the perfect choice for me for my pigmented blushes and especially powder shimmer products. I recommend this brush for every arsenal - you can never know when it may come in handy.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Highlighters -Stila - All Over Shimmer #9
lirontocker 2/24/2007 2:21:00 PM
Stila's "All Over Shimmer" in shade #9 is a muted light rose shade with a shot of peach, which imparts a shimmer in which the peach is more apparent. I'm a big fan of liquid luminizers, and was curious to see what kind of effect I could achieve with a powder shimmer product. The results are moderate - using a product such as this has it's clear advantages, but as a whole, I doubt any powder luminizer is going to be able to reach the luminescent sheen that a liquid product can. Stila's All Over Shimmer is a surprisingly chalky product, which applies rather heavily - I had to resort to using a stippling brush in order to be able to apply a suitable amount, my blush brush simply picked up too much shimmer. The shimmer particles tend to wander - onto my chin, my shirt, my boyfriend, and by the end of the evening I have a surprisingly small amount left where I had originally applied it. This isn't by any means a bad product - I like the look I manage to achieve with it, even if it isn't so luminescent - but I believe I have a long way to go in order to find a powder shimmer product that stays put and radiates the whole night through.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Clinique - Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief
lirontocker 2/21/2007 5:26:00 PM
I've been using a sample jar of this product for a few days and am thrilled with it - I had been looking for a moisturizer that would work well for spot application, as I tend to get serious dry patches in the winter despite my normally oily skin. I apply a small amount of this cream on my chin, the sides of my nose and between my brows twice daily over regular moisturizer, and my dry patches are almost entirely gone. I don't find this to be a great product to apply over makeup, even though it's technically possible - I use powder during the day and the two don't blend very well together. I'd love to be able to get my hands on a few more sample jars and would consider buying a jar of this for the winter.
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Cleansers -Clinique - Liquid Facial Soap - Oily skin
lirontocker 2/21/2007 5:20:00 PM
I have a love/hate relationship with this product. I use it twice daily as part of Clinique's 3-Step skincare system for oily skin, which all in all has managed to clear up my skin quite nicely. To be used on it's own, however, I find this product to be a little harsh. My face dries up like a prune after use, becomes parched and feels very tight - I wouldn't dream of using this product without some sort of moisturizer afterwards. If you have dry to normal skin, I'd suggest you'd steer clear of this product - oily skins may get good benefit from it as part of the 3-step syster or alone with moisturizer. All in all, it's difficult to complain. While the dryness is more than a slight quibble, my skin does look wonderful.
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Eye Shadow -Clinique - High Impact Duo in Like Mink
lirontocker 2/19/2007 11:04:00 AM
This review is for the High Impact duo in Like Mink, a discontinued product. Please start a new review for Clinique's reformulated version, the Color Surge duo.
The "High Impact" duo in "Like Mink" has passed from this world, and perhaps for a good reason. I picked this up in a swap and immediately understood why Clinique decided to do away with the "High Impact" formula - it is powdery, chalky to apply and doesn't have much for staying power. The colors, however, are beautiful - this duo contains a shimmery neutral beige and a medium, muted chocolate brown with golden sheen - probably the best "daily" duo I've encountered to date. The shades play extremely well together, and I understand easily why Clinique carried over this shade duo into it's new formula duos, "Color Surge". I extremely doubt I will go the extra mile to pick up this discontinued product as the formula is very mediocre. However, I am serious considering picking up Clinique's "Color Surge" version of this, which has the exact same shades, but the Color Surge formula I know and love (and stays on my eyelids). This is a shade combination brown eyeshadow lovers will enjoy.
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Eye Shadow -Clinique - Touch Tint for Eyes in Cocoa Cream
lirontocker 2/17/2007 9:49:00 AM
"Cocoa Cream" is one of Clinique's matte shades of "Touch Tint", and a rather impressive one at that. I'm not a fan of cream shadows (in fact, I really dislike them) - I find most difficult to blend and spread evenly, slow to dry and I simply feel like I don't have as much control over the product as I have with powder shadows. Due to these reasons, cream eyeshadows have migrated out of my makeup bag entirely over the years. I had read good reviews on Clinique's "Touch Tint" and decided to try it out - I picked this shade up and surprisingly, am extremely impressed. "Cocoa Cream" is a matte medium milk chocolate shade with a buildable depth of color which dries to a non-severe finish. I attempted to apply this with my fingertips - I recieved well blended results and good color payoff after one-two coats which dried exremely quickly. The color did not crease and had excellent wear, I wore it for 15 hours straight with only minimal "budging" throughout the day. The color may not agree with everyone - since this a medium milk chocolate, it might not show up optimally on those with medium to darker skintones. If you're a light to medium-light and are a fan of browns, this would indeed be a shade to consider. If you're darker than aforementioned, you might want to try some of Clinique's other shades of Touch Tint. I am removing a lippy from the rating duo to this fact - although pretty, this is not a very versatile shade.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No